Impulsive
by poke-a-spark
Summary: On their way to reunite with the rest of the group, Aerith, Tifa, Red, Yuffie, and Vincent run afoul of a storm and seek shelter in a cave. Tifa, lagging behind to retrieve Aerith's white materia from where it had fallen into a river, becomes soaked. Luckily for her, Aerith is all too happy to share her body heat with the frozen martial artist. Aerith/Tifa. Pre-Relationship Fluff.


**Impulsive**

**Summary:**** On their way to reunite with the rest of the group, Aerith, Tifa, Red, Yuffie, and Vincent run afoul of a storm and seek shelter in a cave. Tifa, lagging behind to retrieve Aerith's white materia from where it had fallen into a river, becomes soaked. Luckily for her, Aerith is all too happy to share her body heat with the frozen martial artist. Aerith/Tifa.**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Final Fantasy VII or anything associated with it. I am not making a profit off of this story. I am just a poor college kid who is addicted to the game.**

_**A/N: So I'm playing this again on my PS3 despite the horrifying graphics because the story is just too damn good not to, and I'm writing this little story to try to cheer myself up after the heart wrenching awfulness that is Aerith's death. Also, this story is pretty blatantly Aerith/Tifa, even if it is pre-relationship, so consider yourself warned.**_

**O0o0o0o0o0o0O**

Cursing her impulsiveness, Tifa limped along the cliff face through the rain, the cold wind biting at her soaked and shivering form. Her drenched tank top and mini skirt clung uncomfortably to her figure, doing absolutely nothing to protect her from the elements. Her socked foot squelched disturbingly in the slimy mud, whilst her left foot, thankfully still sporting a boot, offered her enough traction to keep herself mostly upright.

Leather gloved hands numbed from the cold, Tifa had to actually glance down to make sure her right hand was still curled into a fist, the small white sphere responsible for her sorry state still clutched firmly in her hand. Relieved that it was still safely within her grasp, she tried to distract herself from the cold by attempting to figure out what exactly had possessed her to chase after the materia.

It might have been the impulsiveness of her youth rearing its brash head and causing her to act on a split decision, consequences be damned. Or, it may have had something to do with the chivalrous mindset her old master had drilled into her head day in and day out as he trained her in martial arts as a teenager. Perhaps it was neither of these things or perhaps it was both, but one thing was certain; the expression of devastation on the Cetra's face when the wind caught her ribbon and carried the small white materia into the river was the last clear thing she remembered besides vague instructions to meet up in the cave before she had plunged into the icy water.

It was while she fought the current and searched the murky depths of the deceptively deep river that she had lost her boot, slicing the bottom of her foot open on a sharp rock in the process. Despite all odds, however, it hadn't taken her long to find the missing orb, though the river had succeeded in carrying her quite a ways from her companions. This fact was especially troublesome to the cold and wet martial artist due to her non-life-threatening yet still painful foot injury. Luckily for Tifa, the pain in her foot had quickly faded, replaced instead with a certain numbness that heralded a problem should she fail to warm the limb soon.

Squinting against the gale, Tifa sighed in relief as the dark opening to the cave appeared in the distance, the shadows flickering slightly due to what she hoped fervently was a merrily crackling flame. Speeding up nigh imperceptibly, she painstakingly closed the distance between herself and the shelter with a single-minded focus. It was a combination of her tired and numb states that dulled her reactions and allowed a pair of soft hands to grasp her arms and drag her inside the dry cave without even a thought of resistance.

"Tifa!" Emerald eyes flittered across the soaked form with concern as she drew her closer to the crackling fire. "Are you alright?"

"Aerith?" Tifa blinked slowly, shoulders slumping in relief as it sunk in that she had finally made it. Still not in complete control of her faculties, she allowed the older woman to lead her to the fire and push her gently into a seated position.

"You're freezing!" Aerith vigorously rubbed the freezing girl's arms, attempting to warm the appendages up.

"I'm fine…" Tifa responded automatically, teeth beginning to chatter slightly as her numb body began to thaw.

"Yeah right," Yuffie scoffed from the back of the cave where she had been absentmindedly sorting through her materia, the disbelief in her voice barely covering her concern. "I mean, you've always had big boobs, but it's a good thing your shirt is stretchy even when wet or else they'd have poked holes in the front."

Tifa flushed slightly as she sent the ninja a glare, receiving an impish grin and a wink in return.

"Yuffie's right," Aerith spoke with concern, causing Tifa's blush to darken as she turned to look at the flower girl with wide eyes. "You need to get out of these wet clothes."

"N-no!" Tifa's eyes widened to the size of saucers before she emphatically denied the suggested course of action, insisting that she was perfectly fine even as her teeth chattered loudly and her shivers grew in number. "N-no, I'm f-fine. R-really."

Aerith frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly in concern as she watched the melee fighter shift closer to the flames, her drenched form shivering with increasing strength and regularity. Biting her lip in thought, she nodded to herself decisively and sat down next to the younger girl, drawing her into her arms. The flower girl had expected the martial artist to dispute the action, but the near-immediate jerk out of her embrace was unexpected.

Face flushing in embarrassment once more as she tore herself from the other girl's grasp, Tifa couldn't help but feel a stab of guilt at the hastily covered hurt that flashed briefly across the brunette's face. Bowing her head slightly, she hid her face behind her wet bangs and mumbled. "S-sorry. D-don't want y-you to g-get w-wet."

"Tifa…" Aerith began softly before she was interrupted by a blanket of red fluttering noiselessly to the ground between the women. Looking up, they watched in astonishment as the now cloak-less black-clad gunslinger walked silently towards the tunnel that ran through the back of the cave, connecting it to the many others dotting the mountain. Shocked at the stoic man's gesture, it was surprisingly Yuffie who regained her bearings first.

"Hey!" Yuffie yelled at the retreating figure, a scowl slipping onto her face. "How come you're never nice to me like that, huh?"

Vincent didn't even bother to spare the ninja a glance as he continued silently through the cave and into the tunnel, walking sedately around the turn until he was out of sight.

"Hey! Get back here while I'm talking to you Vinnie, you… you…" Yuffie huffed as she sprang to her feet, her materia for once forgotten as she stomped around the corner and out of sight after the unresponsive man, her irritated voice faintly reaching them as she yelled. "You jerk!"

"Well," Aerith cleared her throat, tearing her eyes away from the unexpected scene and back to the matter at hand. Picking up the large cloak, she nodded with a smile as she felt how thick and heavy it was. "That was very nice of him."

"W-what?" Tifa craned her neck around to look at the other girl in confusion.

Aerith held out the cloak in response, a satisfied smile on her face. "Now you can get out of those waterlogged clothes and wrap yourself in this while they dry."

Eyes widening in realisation, Tifa hugged herself tighter as she warily glanced at the cloak, her mind frantically searching for an excuse not to strip. "B-but…"

"Please, Tifa," Aerith pleaded, her eyes wide in concern as she allowed a small pout to slide into place upon her lips, not giving the martial artist time to protest. "You need to dry off before you get sick. I'd feel horrible if that happened, especially since this is all my fault…"

"Aerith…" Tifa floundered for what to say in the face of the other girl's guilt-ridden puppy-dog look. Finally remembering what she still clutched tightly in her hand, she painstakingly willed her fingers to work and unclenched her fist, offering the shiny white orb to the astonished flower girl. "H-here. I b-believe this is y-yours."

Gasping, Aerith hesitantly reached for the materia, almost not believing it was really in front of her. Hand curling around the solid orb, she slowly brought it to her chest and closed her eyes. Sighing in relief, she opened her misty green orbs and gazed into the claret ones in front of her, her voice choked with emotion. "_Thank you_."

Tifa smiled in response; that emotionally charged look and those whispered words were all she needed as payment for her actions. The moment stretched on uninterrupted as they gazed into each other's eyes, before Tifa's body deemed it fit to remind them that she was freezing with a particularly large shudder. The moment effectively broken, Tifa watched as the Cetra hastily wiped her eyes before storing the precious materia safely inside one of her jacket's inner pockets.

Clearing her throat lightly once more, Aerith raised the crimson cloak with an inquiring look. "You can leave your underwear on, just remove the shirt and skirt so they can dry." Seeing the girl about to protest, she continued. "Please? For me?"

As another full body shiver wracked her body, the realisation that the more she thawed the colder she became occurred to the martial artist. Glancing towards the tunnel Vincent and Yuffie had disappeared down and then at the snoozing Red, Tifa was painstakingly aware that her face and neck were most likely beat red as she acquiesced, nodding slowly.

Aerith smiled beatifically in relief as the younger woman slowly stood up and brought her hands up to the bottom of her shirt. Getting the hint as the slightly taller girl shot her a shy glance, Aerith pivoted on her heel in slight amusement and looked away, giving the younger girl some privacy. It was a few long moments and light curses later that Tifa's questioning voice reached her ears, the martial artist's tone oddly timid.

"A-Aerith?"

"Are you finished?" Aerith questioned curiously, just managing to scrounge up the willpower to keep her gaze averted.

"N-no…" Tifa trailed off, a slight hint of frustration audible in her voice. "C-could you… I-I mean, would y-you…"

Unable to control her curiosity any longer, the pink-clad girl twirled around and tilted her head inquisitively as she gazed at the still clothed figure before her. "Yes?"

"I c-can't…" Tifa feebly pulled at her shirt, the combination of wet clothes and uncooperative fingers serving to hinder her attempts at disrobing herself, though she took a small amount of comfort in the fact that she had been able to at least unclasp her suspenders by herself.

Aerith, understanding what was being wordlessly asked, allowed the cloak to flutter to the ground as she stepped up to the shivering girl. Reaching forward, she gently grasped the futilely pulling hands in her own and smiled softly at the helplessly timid glance the usually confident girl shot her through her eyelashes. "Allow me…"

Biting her lip, Tifa nodded nervously despite the fact that this was what she had been trying to ask the flower girl for help with in the first place. Turning her red face to the side, she nevertheless watched the older girl's actions through the corner of her eyes. Her acquiescence to the shorter girl's actions was rewarded with another soft smile, an action that oddly pleased the martial artist and sent an unfamiliar fluttering feeling through her chest.

Aerith slowly dropped one of the hands, instead working on removing the wet leather glove from her right hand. Managing to get the tight covering off after a few moments, she dropped the glove to the ground and gently but firmly rubbed warmth and feeling back into the semi-numb appendage. When the younger girl was able to slowly yet consistently move her fingers, Aerith moved onto the other hand and repeated her actions before removing her bracers and elbow guard.

Aware of the eyes on her, Aerith nevertheless moved on to the younger girl's shirt, neither of them mentioning that due to the flower girl's earlier ministrations Tifa would have been able to, however slowly, finish disrobing herself. Grasping the bottom of the white tank top, Aerith's fingers grazed Tifa's icy skin, causing the martial artist to start slightly. Intrigued and unable to help herself, Aerith allowed the very tips of her fingers to graze the younger girl's sides as she ever so slowly lifted the soaked garment up and off of her, staring transfixed as Tifa's blush deepened and covered more of her neck and chest as she shivered at the older girl's touch.

Shifting slightly, Tifa finally averted her gaze, thankful the older girl refrained from commenting on the shudder that had passed through her, yet somehow certain that Aerith knew it wasn't due to the cold. Having been so sure that her bashfulness was a foe she had defeated when she was younger and still learning under Master Zangan, Tifa was unsure as to why exactly she was reacting this way to the other female's attention. She had, after all, trained with her former master day in and day out in nothing but a sports bra and very short shorts; her body, for the most part, was something she had long thought she was comfortable with.

Confused at her own thoughts and feelings, Tifa shook her head minutely and decided to pick the only seemingly sane option; she would simply ignore what she felt, inside and out, for the time being. This course of action was, however, easier said than done.

Aerith, unaware of the younger girl's internal struggles, allowed her hands to settle lightly on either side of the other girl's bare waist. Eyes roaming over the pale skin without an inch of modesty, a long line of slightly raised skin caught her attention, causing her to cock her head slightly to the side as she inspected it. The long and thin white scar started just above her black cotton bra and continued down diagonally between her breasts, ending a few inches below her bra and just fitting within the span of skin her shirt usually covered. It was only when the body beneath her fingers stiffened and wine-coloured orbs snapped around to gaze at her did she realise she had acted on another impulse and raised one of her hands to trace the bottom of the scar.

"A-Aerith…" Tifa trailed off uneasily, biting her lip once more, unsure of exactly what she should say or do. It was with oddly mixed feelings, then, that she felt the hand on her scar withdraw.

Gazing into the other's eyes, Aerith was about to apologize for her actions when she realized with a start exactly why the younger girl was so uncomfortable. It wasn't the fact that she was touching the younger girl's bare skin that was making her so uneasy; in fact, Aerith was nearly one-hundred-percent certain that Tifa was enjoying the light contact. No, what was bothering the martial artist was the fact that she had been touching her scar, something she obviously still felt insecure about despite its apparent age.

"You know, Tifa," Aerith started softly, returning her hand to deliberately trace the scar once more as she made eye contact, expression warm and caring. "You shouldn't be ashamed of this scar. In fact, I must say that now that I've seen it I'm starting to become quite fond of it."

"W-what?" Tifa regarded the smiling brunette with a perplexed expression, her brows furrowed sharply in confused shock.

"Would you like to know why? This," Aerith lightly tapped the white line to punctuate her statement. "This is proof that whatever meant you harm didn't succeed; you were injured yet you persevered. You survived, you healed, and you became stronger. Had these things not happened, we wouldn't have met."

Tifa blinked, startled; her expression was slack-jawed as her mind stuttered over the confident words the Cetra had defended her scar with. Whenever she thought of that scar, she thought it to be an ugly deformity, never fading and always reminding her of the day her world erupted in flames. She had never, not once, looked at it the way Aerith had just described. Though she was unsure she'd ever look on it in a positive light, Aerith's words were, nevertheless, something to ponder upon.

"And Tifa?" Aerith's smile grew wider as an unknown emotion twinkled in the depths of her emerald orbs. "I'm _very_ glad we met."

Taking advantage of her friend's shocked state, Aerith slipped her hands down and around the still shivering girl and made quick work of her belt before grasping the edge of her miniskirt. Allowing the tips of her fingers to slip beneath the wet leather, she slowly felt around the top of the skirt for some sort of catch. Finding the small latch and zipper on the back of the skirt, Aerith allowed her arms to encircle her companion instead of asking her to turn around.

Feeling Tifa snap out of her thoughts with a gasp as she stepped closer to better maneuver the tiny zipper, Aerith shot her a little grin as she playfully squeezed the younger girl's waist in a quick hug, inordinately amused at the red once again suffusing the skin in front of her. Finally unsticking it, she lowered the pesky zipper and, instead of allowing the garment to drop freely to the floor, slowly pulled it down as she kneeled. Manually lifting one foot out of it, she grinned again as the martial artist quickly grabbed her shoulder to keep her balance, embarrassingly lifting the other foot without prompting.

Noticing for the first time that the younger girl only wore one boot, Aerith arched a brow as she dropped the skirt to the ground by the shirt and grabbed her socked foot. "Your boot?"

"S-strong c-current," Tifa responded with a shrug as she crossed her arms over her chest to try to retain what little body heat she had left.

"I see," Aerith responded in slight amusement. She was about to withdraw her hand when she noticed the discolored stream of liquid running along her wrist, originating from where she lightly clutched the dark gray sock-clad foot. All signs of amusement vanished from her face as she glanced up sharply in concern. "You're hurt."

Tifa nodded in agreement, suddenly wincing as she was reminded of the wound. Her now more or less thawed body deemed fit to remind her of the pain she had been blissfully spared from due to the cold by starting up a dull yet insistent throb. "S-sharp r-rocks."

Standing up abruptly, Aerith grabbed Vincent's cloak and wrapped it around Tifa snuggly before urging her to sit back down beside the fire. Kneeling in front of her, Aerith quickly but gently peeled the wet sock off of Tifa's foot, revealing the raw and bloody skin of the wound to her searching emerald gaze. Gently resting her fingers on the edge of the messy gash, Aerith whispered under her breath, a soft green glow traveling from her hand and suffusing the wound, slowly shrinking it until the skin was unmarred except for the residual blood.

Grabbing the discarded sock, she turned it inside out and used the wet material to gently clean off the blood from the underside of Tifa's foot. "How's that feel?"

Rotating her foot this way and that, Tifa mulled over her response before finally deciding. "T-tingly." Feeling more confident now that she was covered once more, even if it was only in Vincent's cloak, Tifa gave the flower girl a grateful smile. "T-thanks."

"Anytime, Tifa," Aerith responded, waving off the gratitude as she quickly removed her other boot and sock, checking that foot as well just in case. Not finding anything wrong, she gathered the wet items and walked around the fire, laying them out one by one so that they would dry. Making her way back to the huddled form, she paused. About to sit down next to her, she instead decided to try her luck one more time, bolstered by the positive reaction she had received whilst disrobing the slightly younger girl.

Tifa, emotionally and physically tired, was staring mesmerized at the flames and so did not notice the other girl moving behind her. It came as a start, then, when a body pressed gently up against her back for the second time that night and a pair of deceptively strong arms encircled her waist as her legs were framed by another's. Aerith's chin came to rest gently on her shoulder, her head angled so that her warm breath broke against Tifa's ear and neck, sending pleasurable tingles down her spine as the older girl whispered.

"Is this okay?"

Was it okay?

Tifa mulled over that question for a long moment, too drained to dig deep for her answer. Not bothering to search for _why_ she felt, she instead decided to focus solely on _what_ she felt.

But what did she feel for Aerith?

No; that was too large and complex of a question to answer at the moment. So, to narrow it down, she had to ask herself what she felt at that moment, with Aerith practically curled around her, the flower girl's earthy and floral scent both tickling her senses and acting as a soothing agent.

She decided that she finally felt warm, and not just physically. It was a nice feeling, one she hadn't felt in a long, long time. She felt safe, comfortable, wanted, and above all else, lo-_cared_ for. Maybe she shouldn't feel like this, but those thoughts were tied in with the _why_ and so were irrelevant at the moment and promptly discarded.

So was it okay?

…

Tifa decided, right then and there, that it was.

Consciously relaxing her stiff body, she shifted forward a little bit. Feeling the arms around her waist loosening and about to retreat, she used one hand to keep the crimson cloak secure and quickly shot the other hand out and grabbed the Cetra's wrist. Feeling the withdrawing arms pause at her actions, she quickly leaned back and snugged into the warm body behind her, her head resting softly in the crook of the other girl's neck.

Sliding her hand down Aerith's wrist, she watched as the older girl slowly turned her hand around, allowing their palms to meet and their fingers to entwine. Sighing happily, Tifa couldn't contain a yawn as the day's events finally caught up with her, causing her eyelids to feel as if they were caught in a gravity spell. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, she knew she had lost the battle as soon as she first felt and then heard the girl behind her begin to hum lightly, the tune somehow both haunting and bittersweet and yet still filled with an undercurrent of innocent hope.

Yawning once more, Tifa mumbled into the flower girl's neck as her claret eyes finally closed. "It's okay." Smiling muzzily as the arms around her tightened in response, Tifa slowly drifted off to sleep as she was surrounded by Aerith's soft warmth, sweet voice, and soothing scent. With her last conscious thought, the martial artist was just barely able to feel a slight pressure against her head, as if petal-like lips lightly bestowed upon her a soft kiss goodnight.

**O0o0o0o0o0o0O**

_**A/N: Now that I've made one, I kind of want to make more…**_


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